Colgate Directory

Jennifer Tomlinson

Interests

How do close relationships bring out the best in us? My research program is designed to understand the ways in which relationship partners can encourage one another to seek out opportunities for personal growth, and how this can benefit relationships and health. I also seek to understand how partners can maintain healthy relationships by communicating positive regard and finding optimal levels of idealization (when one perceives a partner to view oneself slightly more positively than one sees oneself). Students in my lab will be exposed to a variety of research methods (including experimental, longitudinal, physiological, and observational) and consider relationship processes in both younger and older adults.

Tomlinson, J.M., Aron, A., Carmichael, C.L., Reis, H.T., & Holmes, J.G. (2014). The costs of being put on a pedestal: The effects of feeling over-idealized in married and dating relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31(3), 384-409. doi: 10.1177/0265407513498656